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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28965327">all else is surely desert</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/possibilityleft/pseuds/possibilityleft'>possibilityleft</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stardew Valley (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, First Meetings, Flirting, Pre-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:00:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,080</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28965327</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/possibilityleft/pseuds/possibilityleft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily loves meeting new people, but she's never met anyone quite like Sandy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Emily/Sandy (Stardew Valley)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Chocolate Box - Round 6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>all else is surely desert</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/FourCatProductions/gifts">mimosa-supernova (FourCatProductions)</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Title is from a quote by Robert Brault: "Some say that true love is a mirage; seek it anyway, for all else is surely desert."</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Some of Emily's earliest memories were of riding the bus; her parents had always loved to travel, even when the kids were little.  She found the rhythm of the bus so comforting that even after her parents left to explore the world on their own, she continued riding the bus by herself.  She'd wake up some days and know it was time to go.  She'd get dressed and pack her bag, and then go over to the tavern and knock relentlessly on the door until Gus answered so she could tell him she wouldn't be in later.  He usually didn't mind too much unless it was a weekend, but the urge to travel was unpredictable and sometimes she couldn't avoid it being a weekend.  The sun and the stars told her to go -- she couldn't argue.</p><p>Once that was sorted, she'd make her way to the bus stop and climb aboard even if Pam wasn't there yet; she always left the bus door unlocked.  She'd find the perfect seat -- middle of the bus, window, and wait for the metal dragon to come to life and take her away.</p><p>The route was a big circle, through the desert to Zuzu City and back to Pelican Town, and Emily knew it by heart.  She noticed immediately when the enormous pink-bricked building arose on the horizon, and slipped up to the front of the bus to ask Pam to stop.</p><p>"What?  Oh," Pam said, squinting out her window.  "Sure, whatever."</p><p>When Emily stepped out into the desert heat, she could see the wavy mirage down the long road ahead of them, and the desert trader's stall nearby.  She sometimes stopped to talk or trade with her, but today the trader was full of gossip about the new place in town -- and the new people.</p><p>"I like her aura," the trader concluded, after complaining to Emily about the disturbance in the skyline.  Emily could just see the pink tower rising over the enormous bleached bones of the sand dragon from where they stood.  "She seems nice, but the others -- they never come out during the day."</p><p>Emily wanted to know who 'she' was, so she thanked the trader, giving her a piece of quartz in appreciation, and walked toward the building.  Pam was sitting in the bus, windows rolled up and air conditioning blasting, but Emily could still hear the loud music from inside.  She ignored Emily as Emily passed by, caught up in the song.</p><p>Emily's feet crunched deliciously on the sandy path as she approached the building. It had a sign on it proclaiming it was the Oasis.  She opened the door, and when she stepped inside and waited for her eyes to adjust, she saw the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen.</p><p>"Hey, welcome!" the woman said, her voice deep and dark.  "Finally someone stopped in!  I was beginning to think I'd never have a customer."</p><p>"There are always travelers in the desert," Emily observed.  The woman was tall and broad-shouldered, with bright red hair and a bright smile, wearing a white tank and high-waisted jeans.</p><p>"They don't stop nearly as often as I'd like!  I'm Sandy by the way," the woman said, offering a hand, which Emily lifted to her lips and kissed.  Handshakes were so boring.</p><p>"Emily," she said.  The Oasis was an odd set of contradictions that Emily liked immediately.  There were skylights letting in so much desert light that Emily had been temporarily blinded stepping into the store.  But it was also incredibly cool inside, despite the lack of air conditioning humming, and the walls were shiny with fresh paint.  The floor wasn't even that sandy, like she had expected.</p><p>"Nice to meet you, Emily," Sandy said, and she winked at Emily.  "I can give you my first customer discount, what do you think?"</p><p>Emily wandered through the aisles of the place.  There were mostly home furnishings and seeds.  She picked up a light sconce and considered it, but then put it back down.  She went up to the counter to look at Sandy again.</p><p>"You would look good in blue," she said, after a moment's consideration.  Sandy smiled.</p><p>"Is that so?" she said.  "We'd match then, wouldn't we?"</p><p>Emily fished her bus ticket out of her pocket, and then the stub of a pencil out of another.  She wrote her address carefully on the back of the ticket and handed it to Sandy.</p><p>"Will you be my penpal?" Emily asked.  "I love hearing about different places in the world."</p><p>"As long as you write back, you'll be a better companion than my friends here," Sandy said, gesturing with her thumb towards the back of the shop.  In an inexplicable shadow, considering the openness of the space, Emily could see the silhouette of a man in a black suit.  He didn't acknowledge Sandy.</p><p>"I will," Emily promised.  "And I'll come back to see you.  I'll bring you something."</p><p>She was already planning it in her head -- a dress with swooping lines, velvet blue, with little stars.  It would be a masterpiece, especially on Sandy's curves.</p><p>"You don't have to bring me anything but yourself, hon," Sandy said.</p><p>On the bus home that evening, Emily played Sandy's voice over and over in her head, feeling the tingle down her body, all the way to her toes.  She pushed her warm face against the cool glass window, feeling the rumble of the bus in her body.  The Oasis faded behind them, and the lights of Zuzu City glittered ahead.  Pam would drive through the city and then circle back around to Pelican Town, like always.  Soon, she'd be back home, which was normally another feeling she loved deep to her bones -- the satisfaction of being home after a trip, no matter how short.  But instead of that delicious anticipation, she was already wondering when she could find an excuse to see Sandy again.  She'd have to go back for the dress fitting, of course.</p><p>But mostly she wanted to see Sandy's smile again, her pale skin with her perfect manicure.  She wanted to feel Sandy's voice in the pit of her stomach, curling her toes.</p><p>The world would send her traveling again soon, Emily knew.  She'd bring a bit of Pelican Town to Sandy, and maybe Sandy would send a bit of the desert home with her, like she already had.  Emily petted the coconut in her lap, and waited for the bus to release her into the night.</p>
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